Day 31: Wednesday, April 26; Day 32: Thursday, April 27

Today was quite an eventful and full day. First off, we were down one student and Professor Hruby due to a medical situation (don’t worry, everyone is okay). That didn’t stop our plans, though; just made us modify them.
We began with a trip to see the Piraeus museum and a ship shed under the guidance of Tim Shea, and saw a ton of really cool stuff including a massive bronze Athena.

After a short lunch and coffee break, we got back on the train and headed to the Alexandros to get our bags and move them to professor Hruby’s apartment for the duration of our stay in Crete. Then we left for the airport, with Professor Hruby but sans Tim Shea. A very brief flight later, we were on the island of Santorini, where we stayed in an absolutely gorgeous hotel in which most of us fell asleep immediately.

Akrotir-ya later,
Ben and Grace

DAY 32: Thursday, April 27

Sites Visited: Akrotiri Excavations, Museum of Prehistoric Thera

Leaders: Michael Bodek and Saphfire

We woke up bright and early to maximize our few hours in Santorini. After eating the best breakfast of the FSP, we boarded a swanky bus to Akrotiri, a Bronze age settlement that was destroyed in a volcanic eruption in the 17th century BCE, and is incredibly well preserved. The settlement was advanced for its time, and it was the first Cycladic settlement we had seen. The water systems were well developed, and several buildings were multi-story skyscrapers. Wall paintings were found in situ, and the site was quite large. When the site was destroyed by a volcano, the people there were in the process of evacuating, so the site had things like furniture left outdoors. If we learned one thing from the site, it is that the Minoans are awesome!

We took a quick walk to the red sand beaches then headed back on the tour bus quality public bus to the prehistoric museum. Many wall paintings from Akrotiri were on display, as well as incredible Minoan pottery. We also saw a gold ibex at the museum.

After getting a short break during which we explored Santorini, we headed to the port to partake in the ritualistic ancient Greek tradition of boarding a ferry. Since ships pay per minute they are docked, they try to get people on and off the boats in as short a time as possible. In the span of five minutes several hundred people and a few dozen cars came off the ferry, and a similar amount of people and vehicles got on. We made our way onto the ferry, and two hours later we arrived in Crete, where we are now.